I’m Vinnie Purpura, the founder and lead coach at Stalwart Hockey. With years of experience as a high-level goalie, I am looking forward to helping the next generation of goalies unlock their full potential in the crease.

My playing career began at a very young age starting in Chicago, IL. I played a decade worth of AAA hockey in the area, spending my first 7 years with the Chicago Mission, and my last 3 with the Chicago Fury.

From there, I played for the Johnstown Tomahawks in the NAHL for the 2016-2017 Season, marking the first year of my junior career.

The following season, I spent the start of the season in Johnstown before spending the majority of year with the Omaha Lancers in the USHL.

In 2018-2019, I played the first half of the year with the Omaha Lancers again. For the 2nd half of the year, I went to Boston University, marking the start of my collegiate journey.

In 2019-2020, I played another year with Boston University. After the season, I decided to enter the transfer portal and decided to go to Long Island University, where I spent the last 3 years of my collegiate career.

After LIU in the 2022-2023 season, I finished out the season with the Adirondack Thunder in the ECHL, marking the start of my professional hockey career.

In 2023-2024, I spent the season with the Adirondack Thunder, mixing in a call up to the Syracuse Crunch in the AHL.

For the 2024-2025 season, I am currently playing with the Reading Royals in the ECHL.

Throughout every step of my hockey career, I have learned so much about what it means to be a pro and what it means to improve every day, no matter how significant of an improvement it is. I look forward to mentoring the next generation in their journey to being the goalie they want to be by using my experiences and knowledge to guide them.